I made a “neon” noir short film for Noirvember

I wrote a script for a short about 12 years ago or damn, maybe even more, which was adapted from a short story by W. F. Harvey called August Heat. I never got it made, sadly. I wonder if I still have that file kicking around someplace... At the time, the cameras I could get my hands on (Stuff like the Canon GL2 etc.) were just not giving me anywhere close to the result I was looking for, so I ended up getting discouraged and setting the project aside.

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I’m unfamiliar with the source material but I’d like to read your short, if you wanna share it.

The good thing about living now is that quality cameras have plummeted in price. I spent more on the Canon 70D I used for Glass Stairs than a Black Magic 4K Cinema Pocket Cam goes for (my next likely purchase).

If you check out the short Warpaint that I posted a few posts back, I shot that on my personal iPhone 8 using the $13 app Filmic Pro, based on that published advice that Soderbergh used to make Unsane and High Flying Bird. A consistent comment that I get is that they can’t believe it was shot on a phone, and that’s using an old iPhone that looks substantially worse than the newest model.

If a high end camera is too much of an investment, this is a completely valid avenue to get a final product that at least LOOKS good.

Oh man, the quality of stuff people do on phones, including your work, is way, way more impressive than even the pro-sumer stuff from the mid 2000s was generating.

Thanks for the interest in August Heat. I will attempt to dig it up soon. I have to have it kicking around somewhere, but it was ages ago, so it may be lost in the shuffle of computers dying and being upgraded etc.

That said, I am pretty sure I could bang out something close to what I had back then from memory. The toughest part would be finding the time to get it done. I will post it in this thread if I can dig it up!

EDIT: So this is funny...looks like someone went ahead and made the movie back in 2014, quite a few years after I penned my version.

August Heat 2014

Technology has improved so rapidly that it makes my head spin. I shot my first short film on mini-DV back in HS and recently did a local indie tv pilot with a 4K black magic cinema camera that was probably within the same price range when that borrowed dv cam was new.

If you decide to retype it, I recommend the free screenwriting program Writer Duet. It's how I've written all my scripts for the last few years (many typed on my phone whenever I find time).

I went on a rant to a friend about the amount of projects I've been working on that have gotten greenlit and made by other people while I'm sitting here with no connections. It can be maddening but I take it to mean my ideas are marketable and I've got my finger on the pulse. Just need to get my foot in the door.

Here is the film I tracked down on Vimeo. Very much what I was aiming for, even if I had a bit more of a period piece in mind at the time, falling more in line with the source material. That said, I like the guy they cast as the stone mason here, and also that they made a good attempt to convey the heat itself almost as a character all its own, which was my vision, as well. Glad this thing made it to film in one way or another. I read the story in school many moons ago, and it always stuck with me, especially on those especially hot and hazy days.

I'll check it when I get home! I do often think of adaptating classic, public domain short stories. I would love to adapt Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown. Surprised there isn't an acclaimed adaptation of that one lying around.

"Better than Nolan" is the pull quote I'm going to attribute to this conversation and use it to sell my works.

You already threw that poor man down the stairs. Now you're going to make him come back and take his shirt off?! Tsk tsk.

August Heat is a great short story. You can read it in 5 minutes.

LINK

Tak, I had him PUT ON the coat when he should've clearly torn that tank top right off.

But people might not have believed the bullet would pierce a body that hard.

He is actually shockingly fit.

That's my secret, Tak. I never learned to read!!!

You'll know better next time.

LOL. The title isn't a pun, right, just your actual best shot at spelling the month?

Anyway, see if your wife will read you August Heat before bed.

I usually go out of my way to objectify my actors so no one is more disappointed in me than me.

I just smash my hand repeatedly into the keyboard and so far, the results have been surprisingly mqufnwpskw

Just watched this for the first time today, MSK; fun stuff! I especially loved the lighting. BTW, I caught wind of this new Twitter dedicated to short films today, so I thought you might be interested in it:


https://mobile.twitter.com/ExShortsP...50014904524802

Thanks! Bava lighting is the best lighting.

Neat! Do you know who runs it?

Enjoyed all three that you have posted, War Paint surprised me at how good it looks being shot on a phone. Glass stairs was especially a good short film. I am intrigued to see how the characters came to the point that is shown in the film.
I'll be subbing to keep an eye on your future projects.

MKS, that was another great short. Pure noir, from the femme fatale to the tough guy. The costume choices were also on point, white dress and high heels on her, and the hat, the undershirt and the suspenders on him. As for your framing choices, I think somebody else mentioned it, but I liked the cut right after he shoots, from his back, with the smoke, only to reveal that she went down. I also liked the slow approach through the stairs, and his fall (which reminded me of Psycho's Arbogast). The last thing I want to remark was the way you tilted the camera when the guy faces the girl at the top of the stairs; also another noirish touch.

I kinda agree to a certain extent with what Daakmore said a while ago, about the "back-and-forth" with the guns being perhaps a bit borderline, but I understand where you come from with it. Also, if you say you dialed it down a bit, then I think you made the right choice.

Once again, my best wishes to you. Is it OK if I share it on Twitter?

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Thanks! Warpaint was in interesting process because I had to troubleshoot a variety of methods to make it look right. The jib I used for GS caused a horrible rolling shutter so I had to borrow a Zhiyun crane from a production partner. Also, bought the $13 filmic pro app to emulate how Soderbergh did Unsane and High Flying Bird (did I already say this up thread? Sorry if I’m repeating myself). I don’t think I quite matched HFB but I think it looks in the ballpark of Unsane.*

Glad there’s intrigue! I always try to construct my shorts as if we’re watching the climax of a feature and tell just enough context to avoid confusion.*

Thanks so much! I did the wardrobe for the Goon (I actually owned every piece of clothing he needed so... Success!) and the Femme was done through Goodwill shopping. Was super excited for the heels as they look almost identical to the pair that Lana Turner wears in the Postman Always Rings Twice.

Also super observant with the Psycho touch! I originally planned to go the distance and film a rear projected descent for him to fall exactly like Arboghast, but that fell apart and I stuck with the POV reverse shot I was going to cut into it.

I don’t disagree about it being a bit much. I kept coming back to “guns are noticeably lighter without ammo!!” but the leads insisted they liked the banter and that the shootings themselves were dramatic enough to earn it so I didn’t fight to come up with a new angle. Maybe I should have but I’m proud of how the shootings themselves came together and the Goon’s shock fall is the part of it I’m most proud.

I would LOVE for you to share it! Getting eyes on my work is always a positive in my book. I always think that if the right person sees it, it could be my foot in the door.

Thanks again, mate!

Just watched this. Well done MKS. I like that you added your own color palette to the neo noir genre.

Thanks, Des! I think if I keep combining the disparate influences and my tastes, I'll eventually end up with something unique.

That said, I did a temp cut of this in B&W and I'm thinking I might release an alt. cut of it. I now fully understand Darabont, Miller, Mangold and Bong.